Let Me Breathe
by PieceofTrash
Summary: Sasuke is trying to forget the dark memories of his childhood, that left ugly scars on his life. With parents that are dead, and a brother he hasn't talked to in years, he doubts that there is any hope of him being happy again. Then he meets an irritating blonde that brings out more emotions than he's felt for a long time... but maybe he needs Sasuke too. Highschool AU, SasuNaru.


**This is a prologue, or something like that so the baes aren't mentioned much. Sorry, but if you wanted buttsex straight away, this is _definitely_ not it.  
**

** Disclaimer: **I do not own that annoying blonde but if I did, I would burn all copies of chapter 700 and Naruto Gaiden. :-)

**Contains: descriptions of injury, character death **

* * *

"Sasuke? I'm dropping Itachi off to school now. Be careful and don't answer the door or phone. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Mikoto Uchiha called up the stairs to her youngest son, currently sick with a cold in his room, presumably reading a comic or some other thing a child of seven would do. A soft grunt in reply escaped from his room down the stairs. She wondered on whether she should give him a kiss goodbye like she wanted to, but decided against it when she realised Sasuke would just be irritated by it.

Her older son, Itachi was waiting by the front door, schoolbag hanging on his shoulders. His expression was neutral as usual (she wasn't sure when he picked up this Uchiha trait- it seemed natural for him by now), but Mikoto could tell by his slightly more tense posture and the very slight clench of his hands that he was feeling nervous.

Today was the day of his entrance exam to get into one of the best schools in the country. Students of his age were rarely given the chance to apply for it, let alone accepted. Itachi was considered a child genius though, and his father had been earnest (to both the board of Education _and_ Itachi) that the 13 year old be considered for a placement.

Of course, Mikoto felt proud of her son for being a prodigy, but his happiness was a higher priority. She worried this may be too much pressure on him; people seemed to believe that just because he was intelligent, he didn't need a childhood. She was his mother though, and she knew that underneath the mature mask he wore, he was just an altruistic child trying not to be overwhelmed by the all too cruel world around him. She was afraid that one day it may become too much for him, and cause damage that even she won't be able to fix.

Despite her fears, she gave him an encouraging smile, for his sake, and spoke. "Come on, let's go then. You've got a big day ahead of you."

* * *

She could see his nerves from the corner of her eye. Itachi was fidgeting in his seat next to her, constantly changing the way he positioned himself and tapping his fingers against things, as though he was mimicking his heartbeat with them.

Mikoto wanted to reach over to hold his hand and give him some sense of comfort like a mother should to her child, but she was driving and had her hands on the wheel. So she tried to kill the tension by talking to him instead.

"How about we get icecream after I pick you up?" She glanced towards him and saw that his expression was as emotionless as ever. His finger was frantically tapping the armrest.

"If you want," his tone wasn't necessarily cold, but more as though his mind was elsewhere.

She tried again. "We could go down to the park like we used to when you were younger? Sasuke could come to. Would you like that?" A tint of hopefulness possessed the question.

He finally turned his head to face her and gave a ghost of smile. "That would be... nice."

He used to get so excited about the three of them spending time at the park; it was one of the few times they could all relax together. Now, Itachi just looked tired, yet he was barely a teenager. Even that one sanctuary had been taken from him. It was like Fugaku was trying to create a clone of himself of Itachi, pushing more and more studies onto him and expecting perfection. Mikoto loved Fugaku, but he was going about parenting the completely wrong way.

She hesitated before speaking again, the words like a block of ice sitting in her throat as she stared straight ahead. "You know... You don't have to do everything your father wants you to. He'll understand if you make some of your own decisions."

Itachi was silent for a while. When he did speak, he was staring down into his knees where his arms were lying, fists clenched. She couldn't see his expression. He was using his hair as a curtain to hide his face.

"I- I want to impress him though," he took a deep breath. "I''m scared mum... I'm scared that if I don't do well, he'll be disappointed. Everyone expects me to be perfect, but what if I'm not? Will they hate me?! Will _you _hate me?!"

By now he was looking at Mikoto and his eyes were brimming with unshed tears of fear and desperation. Mikoto stared at him and was shocked by the range of emotion he was showing. The realisation of just _how much _this pressure must have been affecting him was terrifying. It reminded her of how fragile he had been as an infant in her arms, and that it really hadn't been that long since then so, it was definitely too soon to be be putting the expectations their family had been giving onto him. She needed to have a talk with Fugaku after this.

The tears were threatening to fall from his dark eyes that were tainted with a fear she had hoped she'd never have to see. She went to caress her hand against his cheek -

Tyres screeching.

A loud crash and a sudden pain in her body.

Her vision went black.

* * *

When Mikoto regained consciousness, the first thing she sensed was the stench of iron invading her nostrils. She couldn't see anything; it took her a few seconds to realise that it was because her eyelids were closed. They were heavy and she struggled to open them.

When her vision adjusted, the first thing she was able to see was the smashed glass lying on the dashboard, lying close to her face. Her head was lying on it too, and an extreme pain shot up her back and neck whenever she attempted to move. Her chest felt like hot charcoals had been rammed inside it and she was struggling to breathe. Bile and god knows what else was pushing up her oesophagus. She wanted to cry. The pain was unbearable.

The conclusion that there had been a crash, quickly formed in her head and she cursed herself for not paying attention to the road. What even could make her stupid enough to get distracted like that?!

Then she remembered the cause of the distraction, and a completely different kind of pain overwhelmed her. She tried to turn her head. The burn in her upper body made her gasp, but the desire to check on her son was stronger. She bit her lip to stifle a cry as lifted her head up and turned it towards the passenger seat, ignoring the tortures going on inside her torso.

The sight Mikoto was met with caused her to sob. Itachi was lying head-down on the dashboard. His face was littered with little cuts and nicks from the glass shards, but that wasn't what scared her. It was the deep gash on the side of his head, sitting above his ear. An unhealthy amount of blood was running from it, down his face and through his previously raven, but now soaked-in-crimson hair.

Her legs felt like lead and weren't any more mobile than the rest of her body, so she couldn't move forward to him. She wanted to scream, her son, he was just lying there and she couldn't do anything. That cut... it could be fatal. What was she supposed to do?! Her own injuries were irrelevant, all that mattered was making sure Itachi didn't d- no that wasn't going to happen. It couldn't happen. She'd make sure of it.

She forced her heavy limbs to move, and pulled herself over to his side of the car. A cold sweat beaded at the back of her neck with the effort needed.

When she got close enough to look at him properly without causing any more damage, she sobbed in relief. His mouth was slightly open and she could hear his quiet breaths coming from it. The slight joy didn't last for long though, because his head-wound was still bleeding heavily. If she didn't stop it, or at least slow it down, she doubted he would be stable for much longer.

She looked around for any materials she could use, but there was nothing suitable. She gazed down at her own jumper, and noticed the large patch of blood soaked into it. She knew that taking it off would cause her bleeding to worsen, but Itachi's was more urgent.

She ripped the jumper off over her head as quickly as she could, even though raising her arms to do so made her feel like she was being stabbed. Her breathing was becoming laboured and she was starting to feel light-headed. She scrunched the cloth up into a ball and pressed it against her son's wound and held it there firmly.

Th pain and fatigue was catching up to her, and she was losing blood at a devastating pace. Everything was starting to get blurry around the edges. But it was already decided, she was going to die.

She rested her head on the dashboard, forehead touching forehead with Itachi as she looked at his unconscious face. The faint sound of sirens approached, but it was already too late for her.

She was sad that she wasn't going to see him mature into an adult and have the happy life she wanted him to, but if she got to watch over and protect him from the next world... then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Her thoughts transferred to her other son, lying in bed alone, waiting for his mother to come home and the imagery broke her heart. It wasn't fair that she had to leave him so early in his life. She can only hope that Fugaku look after them both, and raise them when she couldn't.

As her pulse slowed, and her lungs failed, her final thought filled her mind.

_I wish I had kissed Sasuke goodbye._

* * *

**I enjoyed writing this a bit too much... C:**

**Sooooo, was it good? Bad? Reviews, criticism and flames would be nice.  
**

**When I will update and give the next chapter with some _actual Sasuke and/or Naruto _in it depends, because I'm currently in the period before my exams as well as having like 5 incomplete essays due this week and a piano exam in a month.  
Tbh I'm glad I wrote this though, because the idea for this fic has been in my head **(iPod)** for a while now, even if it is cliche.**

**Ty for reading and have a nice night. xx**


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